Fish Meal. The AAFCO official definition of fish meal states ground tissues of whole fish or fish parts (left over from filleting of fish); the definition does not state if bone is included however we can safely assume it is. If the meal consists of one variety of fish (such as herring meal), the pet food label must state this. If not, the label would state the generic ‘fish meal’ ingredient on the label. This ingredient may or may not include healthy oils from the fish.

One significant concern with fish meal is the preservative used (often referred to as ‘antioxidant’ in pet food). A common fish meal preservative is ethoxyquin – a chemical linked to serious illness. Some fish meal ingredient suppliers have chosen to use safer preservatives with the fish meal such a mixed tocopherols or Naturox.

Note: if an ingredient supplier adds a preservative to an ingredient, it is not required to be stated on the pet food label by the pet food manufacturer. As example fish meal. If the fish meal supplier adds the risky preservative ethoxyquin, a pet food manufacturer is not required to state this on the label. The consumer would have no warning a risky chemical was added to the pet food.

Fish meal would be a quality ingredient ONLY if a natural preservative is used. Fish meal would be a risk ingredient if ethoxyquin is used. Optimal fish meal would include the natural oils from the fish.

Question to ask the pet food manufacturer about fish meal ingredients…
1. What is the preservative used on the fish meal ingredient – the preservative added by your supplier of the ingredient?

Egg Product. AAFCO states egg product is a dehydrated, liquid or frozen egg; it does not include shell. Eggs sourced for the pet food ingredient ‘egg product’ can be from broken or damaged eggs not suitable for use in human foods. There is no qualification in this ingredient definition requiring the eggs to be USDA inspected and approved.

Egg Product would be a quality ingredient if sourced from human grade eggs.

1. Are the eggs used in the egg product ingredient approved for human food or are the eggs sourced from damaged, broken eggs?

Enterococcus Faecieum, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Saccharomyces Cerevesiae Fermentation Solubles, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract and similar. These very scientific sounding pet food ingredients are probiotics, known as friendly bacteria. Probiotics help keep your pet’s intestinal system working optimally which is key due to a major portion of the immune system located in the ‘gut’. Keeping your pet’s gut healthy helps build a strong immune system.

As with many pet food ingredients, probiotics can turn from a quality ingredient to a less than quality ingredient if the bacteria is not live and viable. Pet food consumers have two options to learn if the probiotics listed in the ingredients are a quality ingredient…

1. Look in the Guaranteed Analysis statement on the pet food label. If guarantee of “probiotics” or “micro-organisms” is listed, the consumer has the company word the live probiotics exists in the pet food.

2. Call the pet food manufacturer and ask “Do you guarantee the probiotics are live and viable?”

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate. Menadione Sodium Bisulfate is a synthetic Vitamin K and a root of a great deal of controversy. Vitamin K is a required nutrient for cats and dogs, however pet food regulations do not specify the source (food sourced K or synthetic K) of the nutrition. That is with the exception of fish based cat foods; regulations require Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (and only Menadione Sodium Bisulfate) to be the vitamin K source in fish based cat foods.

The controversy with Menadione Sodium Bisulfate is to its safety. Some insist the ingredient is proven safe citing evidence from years of use in pet foods. Others question the safety of the ingredient citing opposing science (to ingredient safety). The Material Safety Data Sheet for Menadione Sodium Bisulfate states information is “Not available” as to the toxicity risk to animals. The Material Safety Data Sheet does not specify “safe for animals” – it says toxicity risk to animals is not available. Thus the controversy.

Selenium Yeast, Sodium Selenite. Two pet food ingredients providing the same required nutrient to pet food – selenium. Sodium selenite differs from selenium yeast in that should human error occur (addition of higher than accepted levels into the pet food), sodium selenite could kill pets. FDA has not approved the safer selenium yeast for use in cat foods. Months ago FDA informed us they are waiting for pet food manufacturers to apply for approval of selenium yeast in cat foods.

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Comment10

Cathy
Jun 11, 2013

First – thanks to you Susan for your tireless work in helping to educate us when it comes to feeding our family pet members in the healthiest manner possible.
We have two 10 year old Norwich terriers (brothers-the entire litter to be exact) one of which has just been diagnosed with kidney disease. We have always fed them organic kibble (many chosen from your reviews) plus organic cooked chicken & organic chicken broth. Our vet of 18 years has prescribed 1 tab (5mg daily) of Enalapril Maleate; Metacam Oral susp. daily, dose for 20lb. dog after his meal; Welactin-1 scoop onto food once daily & (I hate to even write this part) gradual shift over 7 to 10 days to Hill’s Prescription Canine k/d kibble for Renal Health. Does anyone know of another brand of k/d kibble that doesn’t have at risk ingredients? Any other suggestions, websites, blogs, resources that I can access for treating his condition in as natural a manner as possible? We thank you as well as Mason & his brother Dixon.

Cathy, you really need to have a sit down talk with your vet. If you look up Metacam, one of the side effects is potential for kidney damage. It is NOT something that I would give to a renal compromised dog without a VERY good reason to do so.

As for diet, you can find any number of home-cooked recipes out there, but I would really recommend that you look into feeding raw. I’ve played the kidney failure game and feeding raw has a number of advantages over other choices (oral health – which is a big player in renal failure, controllable amounts of phosphorus, quality protein that doesn’t stress the kidneys, high moisture, etc.).

Thanks for the advice Casey. Mason was on a minimal dose of Metacam for about 3 wks. before the renal disease was diagnosed. It was prescribed because of arthritis – he was having trouble going up the stairs (unfortunately we have loads of them). We saw improvement almost immediately after starting the Metacam.
I have a follow-up blood work appt. with the Vet in 2 weeks and will ask him about the side effects & also about a raw diet for Mason’s renal condition. We too have dealt with renal disease in one of our Rottweilers about 12 years ago, before we became aware of the hazards of big dog food. In the meantime, I’ll start doing research on the raw diets available for this condition.
Thanks so much for your advice!

You may try “Just Food For Dogs” which is a consultation service. They will work with your Vet, and the Lab reports. to customize a diet through a recipe to support your dog’s issue. You may suggest to them which foods you prefer feeding, as well as using a commercial base to make it a little easier (like The Honest Kitchen). Sabine, the Nutritionist, will design which proportions and supplements that will help support your dog. The one-time fee (or on-going hourly consultation) is very, very reasonable and you can work together for awhile to make sure the recipe is working and is tasty too. Just make sure the supplements are derived from whole foods and not imported from overseas. Udo’s makes Pet Essentials. However Sabine is very good at recommending wholesome products. I’ve used this service myself, so that I’m able to recommend it now. However I receive no kickback or benefit from doing so. Wishing you the best for your dog.

Allison – thanks so much. I thought I had seen an article on this subject recently but didn’t read it because we didn’t know about Mason’s condition then. Now I know right where to find it! Thanks again.

Have you considered trying the Addiction grain free, free range foods? For both dogs and cats with dehydrated freeze dried food for dogs as well.
It has been made here in NZ since 2002 and exported to the States and has won awards there also.

Cathy, look into Grandma Lucy’s, which makes Pureformance, Valor, and Artisan. All of them have low phosphorus. You can read about the importance of low phosphorus at the DogAware.com website, which offers a wealth of information about feeding dogs who have renal disease. Whole Dog Journal also has some good articles on the topic.